Giorgio Marrapodi was appointed the Director General for Development Cooperation on 2 February 2018.A career diplomat with 32 years of experience, he was Italian Ambassador to Austria (2013-2017) and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Italian Embassy to Spain (2005–2009).Previously he served at the Permanent Mission of Italy to the European Union in Brussels (2001–2005) and to the United Nations in New York (1994-1998), where he represented Italy to the Executive Board of UNICEF and UNDP. In 1996, during Italy’s six-month Presidency of the European Union, he served as EU negotiator in the UN working group on the Agenda for Development.At the Foreign Ministry in Rome he was Division Chief for Legal Affairs.Entered the diplomatic service in 1987, his first overseas assignment was in Bucharest, where he served at the Italian Embassy to Romania (1990-1994) as First Secretary for Trade.He is a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, Knight Grand Cross of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. He received the highest decoration from the Republic of Austria and the Star of Diplomacy from Lithuania.